The Park Avenue Experience – West Coast Pier Sunset
The digital album of the band The Park Avenue Experience reaches me from Italy. This trio has been making smooth jazz for several years under the direction of Fabio Puglisi (Soul Basement).
They create a sound that consists of a cool cocktail of classic Bob James grooves, with a pinch of Shakatak and a layer of Ibiza chill-out. In this way they want to create a soft, relaxed ambiance that sounds perfect at downtempo moments.
For this new EP they composed 5 new tracks, where ‘A Moment of Serenity’ starts with the sound of the sea washing up on the beach. ‘Pacific Park’ increases the tempo to a pleasant mid-tempo, after which ‘Lost in Your Gaze’ sounds nice and relaxed. That atmosphere lingers on the sounds of ‘Smooth Sailing’, and the closing track ‘A Smiling Sun’ puts a sunny smile on your face.
From my recent review of David Bach‘s collection album Perficiendi I quote the following overview of David’s solo albums: Window On The West (1998), 5Thousand Words (2001), A Deep Breath (2005), Live at Baker Park (2008), Otherworld (2013) and Perficiendi (2020). Next album Fierce Heart is available on bandcamp since July 17, 2020.
Keyboardist Oli Silk describes himself as a smooth jazz ambassador. A title he rightly bears, as he has performed at numerous smooth jazz events as a main act or accompanying musician.
Groove Frequencies is a project by bassist, keyboardist and writer Johnny E. Stewart. After In The Groove (2017), Groove Frequencies (2018), Back To The Groove (2019), the fourth project is Grooves To Go (2021).
Takamatsu is not only a city in Japan but also the name of a prolific Tokyo based bassist, composer and multi-instumentalist. His smooth jazz albums are among others 4 (2014), One More Chance (2015) and Rendezvous (2016).
Konstantin Klashtorni is one of the brightest musician/composer/producers in the world today. His ability to express his emotions through the saxophone is unequaled by his peers. He has cultivated his jazz stylings by educating himself in classical, Latin and modern electronic music. His unceasing enthusiasm to stay on top of the advances in the music business drives him to always train in new and emerging styles. His relentless work ethic has pushed his accumulation of professional experience as a musician in the studio and on tour as well. His perpetual thirst for knowledge explains need to study various innovations in music production methods. And all of this has been going on for more than thirty years.
American jazz singer Nancy Erickson Lamont has been familiar with the Seattle jazz scene for more than 3 decades. Nancy grew up in Salem, Oregon, where she attended Edmonds Community College.
John “Jubu” Smith has worked as a sideman for 41 of his 45 years, beginning as a harmony vocalist in his father’s Oakland gospel quartet before adding bass, then guitar, to his responsibilities in the group. At 19, he began playing guitar for the Oakland R&B band Tony Toni Toné, whose front man, Raphael Saadiq, he’d known since both were kids playing on the local quartet circuit.
The Ghost Jazz Trio is San Diego’s only charting jazz band on the smooth jazz and jazz charts. Ghost Jazz Trio are 2021/2022/2023 nominees for “Best Jazz Album” by the San Diego Music Awards. Based in San Diego, CA the trio features founder/guitarist/composer and producer James Morgan.
Alan Leonard Broadbent 
Smooth Jazz Daily 